If I didn’t know better, I might think we never learn from history. Oh, wait. We never do.
From PogoWasRight’s archives, some headlines from past years:
- Suit possible over baby DNA sent to military lab for national database (2010)
- Plan to tag new babies causes outcry (2010)
- DNA Data From California Newborn Blood Samples Stored, Sold To 3rd Parties (2015)
- Parents Sue Michigan Over Database of Baby Blood Samples (2018)
- Police Are Using Newborn Genetic Screening to Search for Suspects, Threatening Privacy and Public Health (2022)
- Police Used a Baby’s DNA to Investigate Its Father for a Crime (2022)
Now Daryl James and Brian Morris report from New Jersey:
Expectant parents invite doctors and nurses into the delivery room, not police officers. But law enforcement agencies have backdoor access in New Jersey.
The intrusion starts within 48 hours after birth, when maternity ward workers prick an infant’s heel to collect blood for laboratory testing. The screening allows for early detection of rare conditions like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease.
All states do this. But afterward they destroy the paper cards they use to collect dried bloodspots. New Jersey keeps the blood.
Without telling parents, the state has stored samples from each baby born since the 1970s, creating a secretive database with millions of entries. Blood samples stay on file for 23 years. DNA data might last longer on third-party servers.
Read more at The DailyBeast.